Big issues (MM)

[911Etarga]

OK, I have put this off for 10 months to give them a chance to fix there mistakes, but now I am ready to kill.
The Story:

Last Sept I bought a '71 E targa in California that sat in a garage for 10 years. The first thing I wanted to do is rebuild the engine, so I checked on the net for good rebuilder's (I didn't belong to this forum yet...) I saw one that said "Motor Meister, USA’s #1 Porsche 911 Motor Builder" So I called them. A nice fellow named Roy talked me through what they would do and what it would cost (first quote:$4500.00) for a complete rebuild of a 2.2E engine. Great! That's cheap. Off the car went....
After they got the car the quote went up to $15000.00.

Me: WAIT A MINUTE, you said $4500.00 Roy!
Roy: I don't know where you got $4500.00 from......
Me: YOU!

The cost of taking it away from them at this point would have cost me some good $, so I talked him down to $10,000.00, and hoped for the best......

Me: When will this be done?
Roy: We are looking at approx 14 weeks. (that would have been end of Jan).
Me: OK let me know how it progresses.

Over the next few month I would touch base with him, because he never sent even an E-mail to me. He would always say "we are right on track". The end of Jan came around so I called him to see when I could pick up the car.

Me: I was wondering when I could come down to pick up the car?
Roy: Um, lets seeeeee.....in about 10 weeks.
Me: WTF!!! I'm OK with a couple weeks late, but two and a half months!!! Why didn't you tell me earlier!! you said 14 weeks form Oct!!
Roy: HAY! You have to look up the definition of an estimate!! I have dealt with all kind of personalities, and if you want us to stop right now, we will charge you for what we did, and you can take it.
Me: Look up the defn of an estimate??? Don't blow smoke up my ass, when will it be DONE?

Then I called back a few days later and told him that I am picking it up on May 30th ready or not. " We will try, but I can't guarantee anything"

May 20th, Roy phoned and said that it won't be done by the 30. My Dad and I already go tickets to fly from Calgary Alberta to LA, so I said that it better be, because we are coming.

Friday, May 30 was a HORRIBLE day.
We were supposed to land in LA at 1:00 pm, then go to MM pay for the engine, and start driving north to Napa. Well, first the flight got delayed, so I called Roy and told him we would be a little later....

Me:Roy we are stuck at the airport, but they think we will arrive at around 3:00, so we will be at MM around 3:30.
Roy: That is to late, we close at 4:00.
Me: That gives us 1/2 hour?? But I'm sure some one could stay 15 minutes late if need be?
Roy: NOPE we close at 4:00, no exceptions.
Me: Roy, I am flying 3000 miles to get the car and have waited for 3 extra months for you guys, and you won't wait 15 minutes for me???????????????
Roy: NOPE. We open again on Monday.

So I proceed to get them to fax all the documentation for the car to the flight terminal and I signed it then send it back. I was signing for a car I couldn't even see....bad. I payed them with my MasterCard ($15000.00 was the total)and off we went, and they gave the car to there neighbors who were open until 6:00
We landed at about 3:00, but it took us about 1 hour to get to the car, MM was closed. So I went over to the car, very excited and started her up. Smoke came bellowing out of the exhaust, but then went away.
Off we went........we made it to Calgary, but the car leaked 7 quarts of oil, was running on 5 cylinders, smoked, and generally ran like ****.

Over the last few months, it has been sitting in my garage while I try to fix fuel/ carb problems, Oil leaks, Brake issues(they replaced them), and the engine's paint issues(there paint job was horrible). I replaced the Fly wheel seal, oil pressure sender, thermostat O ring, Spark plugs 3 times, oil 4 times, cleaned the carbs, and jets a million times, and now have given up. The fly wheel seal took me 3 days(I'm a rookie) with NO help from MM. It is leaking more than ever now and STILL running on five cylinders. But they won't help me out!!!
So I am asking for a full refund.....

There are many more details, but this storey is long enough.

So I am waiting.....

Here are some pics. (It is supposed to say different cylinders...)

[BeauBlues]

WOW..just..WOW!!! I would be more than beyond pissed if that were my car. I too have had very bad experiences from MM. I live in Downey and they are just down the street from me. Roy is your typical slick talk businessman (@$$hole) that will say anything to sucker you into his services and blame every problem on the customer. It doesn't matter if he rebuilt your motor with duct tape, he'll say it's your fault for some stupid reason.

We all here have had enough of Roy and his antics. Someone needs to shut this clown down!

As for your $15k, you deserve every penny back and then some for the cost to get it back to the condition it was in before. Sue this guy! He will not cooperate with anyone. You have every right to your money.

[BURN-BROS]

$4500.00???? Is this your first Porsche?

Definitely a sad story and sorry it happened to you, but i hope you learned to get quotes from multiple builders in the future.

BTW, $15,000.00 should have went alot farther than what you got.

[village idiot]

Sorry to see that happen to anyone. Firebombing of MM would be too civilized.

When I got my first Porsche, a 76 911s Targa, it was in need of an engine/rebuild. I was looking through a magazine(can't remember which) and saw their ad. Compared to the prices I was hearing from everyone else it looked too good to be true. Fortunately I found this place(thanks Wayne/all) did a search on them and decided against sending MM any funds.

I looked locally for an engine and came across an 1978 SC in rough shape with a good engine for a modest price.

In your case I would find a lawyer and see what recourse you have if any.

[azasadny]

As they say... "lawyer up"!

[vanwyk4257]

Originally Posted by azasadny

As they say... "lawyer up"!

Amen to that, take the prick to the cleaners!

[1986911]

Originally Posted by vanwyk4257

Amen to that, take the prick to the cleaners!

+1

Good luck!!

[72 four door]

Man I hate hearing this crap. Ya know in the old days,real old, they would gather round the saloon ,put a good buzz on,and go lynch this guy. Geez I mean you hear about this guy 3-4 times a year on this forum alone. i can only imagine how many other poor souls have been screwed by this company. Hey again sorry you had to go through this.

[vash]

i wished you had titled you post with the full name. that way if anyone searches...........

i hope it all works out. i dont know how those idiots stay in business.

[Jgordon]

Check numers on the engine and on the chassis - compare to when you bought the car. They have a reputation for stealing good engines.

[fintstone]

Henry at Supertec built me a screamer for about half that. Price came in at estimate even though I asked for a couple of extras during the rebuild. It was ready before the date they promised it (took a couple of months). Gave me a 2 year warranty. I drive it like a maniac and haven't done anything but change the oil for 5 years. Doesn't leak a drop. Call Henry at Supertec and send the motor to him. You will need a pro to document what is wrong with the engine anyways...if you plan to go to court. MM is nothing but bad news

[911s55]

Without written and or photo documentaion on what you gave him and work aggreed upon at what price you have a difficult task ahead.

Being 3,000 miles away in another country doesn't help.

Very sorry!

[jwetering]

OMFG!

From what I hear that's classic Motor Meister Bull****. These stories have been going around for years now, but to have a fellow Canadian get robbed like that cuts a little close to home.

When all is said and done, it looks to me like Roy has flat out *stolen* $15 large and possibly your good rebuildable engine core as well.

It's easy for me to say this as I'm not in your situation but if it were me I'd be inclined to fly back to LA along with my brother and maybe my friend's brother-in-law Harry. Pay Roy a little visit and persuade him to give you your $15K back....maybe at his house or something.

Seriously I'm surprised he's still walking without a bad limp you know.

[VroomGrrl]

Looked them up on BBB. Found this in the complaint section of their member page, but overall looks like the BBB hasn't had many complaints against them. Perhaps that would be a place to start?

Our complaint history for this company shows that the company responded to and gave proper consideration to most complaints. However, some complaints are unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.

[fastfredracing]

Is there nothing we can do to stop this animal??? I wonder if roy is a large man?? I picture him as a squirrely little nerdy worm, he must be one bad mutha, or someone would have handed him a can of whoop ass by now. I think he is lucky that a lot of his customers are not local, and that makes legal action against them much more complicated. I got a hosing from Roy many years ago, so I feel your pain, and I am 3000 miles away. I just sucked it up , and did what I had to do to make the motor right. I am thankful ,that I assembled myself, or it would have exploded in 3000 miles. I think I am going to operate my buisness more like MM. Hell, I dont know why I even try . I will build you a hodge podge of a motor out of leftover parts that I forgot to put back on other customers motors for 5k. Sorry for your troubles. Hopefully you will get it sorted , and this will all be far behind you in a few years.

[Netspeed]

Sorry to hear your problems. I would immediately contact the Bureau of Automotive Repairs www.bar.ca.gov. They are VERY pro-consumer and will work in your best interests.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I wonder if this guy and the owner of GAD are brothers. Wouldn't surprise me.

Is there ANYONE who has had a positive experience there? I realize that on boards like this one tends to hear a bit more bias towards negative experiences (very few people bother to post about how great so-and-so was, but it does happen occasionally). In the case of MotorScheister, I've only EVER heard negative experiences - and not just a little negative, CRIMINALLY negative. Really bad nasty stuff. This guy is the kind of person that eventually karma will catch up with. Sooner or later he's going to try and f*ck over the wrong kind of person (someone not too dissimilar from myself) and end up with a mouthful of broken teeth or worse.

You guys have been WAY more patient and restrained than I'd be in the kinds of situations you've gone through with this clown. I'm grateful for you all sharing your experiences so I didn't discover too late myself and end up getting arrested (which I may very well have if he ever pulled this kind of crap with me).

Best of luck in your efforts. They are fairly local to me too, so I'm not past driving over there to check on things on your behalf or to serve him or whatever you might need - free favor from one Porsche guy to another.

[911Etarga]

Best of luck in your efforts. They are fairly local to me too, so I'm not past driving over there to check on things on your behalf or to serve him or whatever you might need - free favor from one Porsche guy to another.[/QUOTE]

I would send you a case of what ever scotch, wine, racing fuel you like, if you went over there and laid into these guys!!

I will change the title to Motor Meister so it will come up in searches.

As for stolen parts.....I am looking at previous pics, and there are a few things I am worried about.
This is a classic line though "Um, do you know what brakes you have in this car?" He was asking in hopes that I didn't know that my car had "S" calipers in it. The way he asked, made it so obvious!

I hate to go legal, but I may have to.

What a pain, all I've wanted to do this summer is drive my first Porsche through the Rocky Mountains, but no way. It sits in garage leaking oil and collecting dust...........

My Motor Meister experience in a nut shell:
$15,000.00 gets you an engine that:
Looks like s**t
runs like s**t
and leaks like s**t

[Aurel]

I would go legal. With a good attorney. Heck, I would even contact other victims of MM, to make it a bigger lawsuit. This guy needs to be put out of business. I`ve read so many horror stories about MM, I have no doubt whatsoever this crook is committing fraud on a daily basis. A few well documented cases, with before and after proof. Show swap of good parts for bad ones, mismatch of parts, misrepresentation, used parts for the price of new ones, etc...Nail him !!!

Aurel

[robmog]

bummer.
did you get a written estimate?
was the work guaranteed?
what faxed document did you sign?
i don't think there's much a lawyer can do.
maybe you can appeal to the credit card company.
may 30 was 3 months ago, the clock is ticking!
whatever you do do it fast.